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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · pound · craft · stem · snap · drill · band · kid

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. drill — a practice
  3. band — a music group
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. band — a ring
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rush — hurry
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pound — a weight
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. drill — the tool
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — army training
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. kid — child
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. craft — boats
  24. stem — a stem cell

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com